Business

Resale retailers fight Greenfield rules

Secondhand shops call new regulations flawed

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Six resale retailers with stores in Greenfield are working together to persuade local aldermen to rescind two ordinances that regulate and impose fees on their businesses.

"We believe these two ordinances are fundamentally flawed and attempting to fix them by any other means will not address those underlying issues," the retailers say in a statement they plan to present to aldermen at a Common Council meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

The retailers signing the statement are: The Exclusive Co., a local music retailer; Game Stop, an international chain that sells new and used video games; Half Price Books, a Texas-based book resale chain; Mega Media Exchange, a Green Bay-based chain that resells games, music and small electronics; Music Go Round, a musical instrument reseller; and Plato's Closet, a clothing resale shop. Both Music Go Round and Plato's Closet are independently owned stores that are part of Minneapolis-based Winmark Corp., a national franchise chain of resale stores.

The retailers have been worried about the adverse effect on their businesses since the Greenfield rules were passed this spring. Unlike similar ordinances in other communities, the Greenfield rules do not take effect until next year.

Some police departments have pushed for the passage of these ordinances, which were originally aimed at gold resellers and pawn shops. The ordinances would create a statewide or regional law enforcement database that would list every item brought into the stores for resale, along with the identities of the people who sold them. The Greenfield regulations include all resale categories, even books and children's clothes, and impose transaction fees.

Some of the business operators have said their customers would be upset at the prospect of having their personal information entered into the police database. The fees also are a problem, so much so that at least one children's clothing resale operator in Greenfield plans to shut its doors if the new rules aren't changed.

In addition, the new rules require the retailers to provide the race of their customers to the police department.

"The awkward customer service situation of 'what are you' is frightening," the retailers said in their comments about the wording of the existing ordinances.

"We believe the process by which these ordinances were passed was flawed; there was no input from the secondhand merchants and the ordinances, as drawn, reflect a complete lack of understanding as to how the vast majority of secondhand retailers conduct their business," the statement from the group of six retailers says.

Joe Desch, district manager for Half Price Books, said the retailers are telling their customers about the Greenfield Common Council meeting Tuesday and hoping that some of them will join them in bringing their concerns to the city.

The retailers will ask to have input into any future ordinance governing their business, if aldermen agree to rescind the current ones.